Samsung Says You Need a Fridge With Wi-Fi

Samsung revealed its new Wi-Fi-enabled refrigerator in South Korea, solidifying rumors that the company was incorporating wireless technology into consumer appliances.

The heading of this article asks if we really need such a device, and at first thought, it seems rather silly. But after checking out the features, adding Wi-Fi to a fridge does make sense.

According to the Samsung Hub, the new Zipel e-diary features a 10-inch screen mounted on the top-right door, integrated Wi-Fi, and is compatible with DLNA devices so you can play your favorite TV clips while looking for that mayo.

The screen can actually be used to take notes, display current weather conditions, and can even sync with Google Calendar. It can also show more than 500 different varieties of food and their nutritional values and pull up current news from the Internet. The display can even serve as a digital frame by importing images from a memory card, or wirelessly through the network.

While no expected ship dates were provided for the States, the Zipel e-diary refrigerator will cost around $2170 USD.

I guess I could just mount a netbook to my refrigerator for some savings. Or I could be normal and just put it on the counter. I was hoping it could be used as a repeater for your wireless network, that would at least be useful.

It's not an awful idea, but it would be better if it could send a text message or email if the temperature rose above a certain level (ie someone left it open/partially jammed). For instance, I just opened the freezer and found all my ice cream to be soup because something blocked it from completely closing, a heads up would have saved my evening :)